Wada to decide whether to have surgery on torn elbow ligament

Orioles left-hander Tsuyoshi Wada will decide this week whether to have surgery to repair a partial tear of the ulnar collateral ligament in his left elbow or attempt to rest and rehab it.

On Monday and Tuesday, Wada was examined in California by Dr. Lewis Yocum, who removed bone chips from Wada’s elbow after the 2007 season.

Yocum, the Los Angeles Angels’ team doctor, confirmed the tear and has recommended surgery, according to Orioles executive vice president of baseball operations Dan Duquette. Ultimately, the course of action will be determined by the 31-year-old Japan native.

The Orioles' Dr. John Wilckens had recommended only that Wada seek a second opinion. If he has elbow surgery, Wada will be shelved for roughly a year.

“It’s the player’s decision,” Duquette said.

Duquette said the tear apparently occurred after Wada had his physical in December and before last week – though it wasn’t thought to be the source of the elbow soreness that plagued him early in the spring. Signed to a two-year, $8.14 million deal this offseason, he has yet to throw a regular-season pitch and had one Triple-A outing before being shut down.

MLB.com first reported that Yocum had diagnosed a tear, confirming the Orioles’ diagnosis.